Letter of the Day | Healthcare in Jamaica can still improve

THE EDITOR, Sir:

Healthcare services in Jamaica were substandard before the intervention of Dr Christopher Tufton. He has embarked on a few initiatives which have changed the complexion of the situation, but there is dire need for better healthcare services still. Many trauma cases went unanswered in the past few years, but the immediate impact of Dr Tufton has changed the ball game, almost revolutionarily, with his many initiatives for better service. We are waltzing gently down the road for better lifestyles, especially in school with the new school-feeding policy.

In the past, there were many talks of unprofessional behaviour of nurses, and other healthcare professionals were consistently denounced and eschewed for crude behaviour. I hope this is not a figment of my imagination that things are going well now and the bad behaviour has improved. All we have to do is to be patient and welcome the new policies being embarked on by the minister of health. I have seen the improvement of some small hospitals, like Lucea and Linstead, allowing for more productive citizens of our nationals and visitors.

There are more young prospective students who vie to be part of the medical profession with the requisite knowhow, skill sets and attitudes to turn the fortune of our ailing patients. As such, we need to subsidise tuition fees some more for these well-motivated youngsters to seize the opportunity to be part of these professions. We have, as Jamaicans, witnessed patients die on hospital benches when they could have been better taken care of if more doors were open for young nurses and doctors. We also need greater sanctions for those who use the system and run away to so-called greener pastures. Why can't we focus on the youth to bring us out of this quagmire we currently seem to be in?

Paris Taylor